Pala Adas Jakarta

It's not a secret anymore that just like Senopati, Pantai Indah Kapuk is one of the most populated area in Jakarta when it comes to dining places. Numbers of new restaurants in and out each and every month trying their luck on the field but truth be told, I have one thing kept in my mind that I want to point out here.

When people ask me where to go to have a FANTASTIC meal in PIK or Senopati, I had the moment of silence, I couldn't really tell exactly which, not because I don't know (no no no) but it's just that there aren't so many restaurants that actually serve out of the world good food in both places, most of them are hangout places serving comfort food but mostly not fantastic good, but if I point out something like Emilie or Chateau Blanc then it's not our everyday meal...cost (I guess for most), well the closest to "nice" in PIK are decent ramen in Ikkudo, ice dessert in SumoBoo or grilled meats in Carnivor but where else if I may ask?

Last weekend with some foodie friends, we went to this newly launched restaurant called Pala Adas and I couldn't wait to blog about this because this one was worth blogging! The reason I blog about this is because this restaurant is located at the Pantai Indah Kapuk area but if you think of those in "Rukan Crown Golf" then it's not! It's located in the Elang Laut Boulevard, honestly a little hidden and not common but I see a good potential there. Keep reading to know the reason why ;).

Pala Adas actually means "Nutmeg and Fennel". Pala is the indonesian of nutmeg and Adas refers to Fennel and yes as you can see below, it's serving Indonesian food! Now I am excited.

This restaurant is pretty HUGE! Three "rukos" for one restaurant. What exactly is the english language for ruko?

Some interior shots...

To be frank, I love the interior even though when I got in it wasn't exactly as big as I expected. In a sense it's not really Indonesian, but there's something western-vintage, ethnic peranakan and Chinese about the decoration. Maybe I sort of stumbled on the red chairs and the hanging lamps, but still, the overall feeling of the room was beautiful.

Second floor. I forgot to point this out to the owner so I'm doing it here if he reads this, I think the second floor needs a little renovation or finishing because to me it looks kinda undone. As you can see, there's a mini space for karaoke night :D.

The second floor was also where the outdoor smoking area is, at the terrace to be exact.

Before I proceed to the F&B I just wanna tell you that I appreciate how they are with the food here, they're maximizing on the "LESS OIL" campaign and that's what they're doing with their food: to cook everything with less oil and IF you notice a little oil, it's actually from the ingredients that extract oil on the cooking process like coriander. I am totally a pro when it comes to this: less oil = possibility of more lifetime :).

Tropical Dragon
IDR 30k
This is what I ordered because the photo on the menu turned me on (in a delicate way) and when I noticed that it's dragon fruit + banana, I was sold! Big fan of banana beverages here!
The flavor was indeed good and refreshing with creamy milky flavor and consistency. You're going to notice that the banana flavor is dominating the overall beverage but it's actually the neutral character of the dragon fruit that didn't stand out, but I didn't find this a problem at all, in fact I highly recommend this to you!

Healthy Juice
IDR 20k
Technically a vegetable juice but with a little pineapple juice infused which then help to live up the flavor. I have been into healthy juice lately and hereby I want to encourage you to NOT be afraid of just listening to the term "vegetable juice", they were honestly really good, fresh and went along quite well with my taste bud.

Three Flavored Pork Ribs (Iga Babi Tiga Rasa)
IDR 158k
This was the perfect opening! Overall, the ribs were tender and juicy with semi-crispy coating. One portion consist of pork ribs with three different dressings: Rica-rica (traditional chili), Cabe Ijo (Green Chili) and Hitam Manis (soy and honey glazed). I was a HUGE FAN of their cabe ijo, it had the proper state of spiciness which I could take but that doesn't mean the other two weren't good, they were also very good, I do love the consistency of the meat on the "Hitam Manis", when a pork-rib that tender dressed and glazed with special Pala Adas sauce, the sauce would absorb to the meat resulting even juicier cut! LOVE!

This might be simple in presentation and appearance but this one surely not so 'little' on the flavor, the meat was slow cooked for hours (maybe that's why the meat was tender and soft), loving the Serundeng (shredded coconut sauteed with spices with palm sugar) dressing. Huge crush!

Pala Adas Fried Duck with Green Chili (Bebek Goreng Cabe Ijo)
IDR 78k
OMG favorite! The duck was fried perfectly and seasoned perfectly, best thing of all: STINK FREE! Don't you hate it when you happen to get just the most unfresh duck you might want to blood vomit!!!

I was glad that this was fresh and beautifully crispy but not overall dry, comparing to certain famous duck restaurants, this one lies on the top part of my list! The meat was juicy and tender and the green chili wasn't crazy spicy so I guess generally more people could take it and the seasoning for both duck and green chili were beautiful and savory!

Gurame Sambal Matah
IDR 78k
Their version of sambal matah was slightly different that what I used to have in most restaurants, it's a little milder and less spicy (for me), but rich in the seasoning and mostly savory. The carp fish was cooked crispy and seasoned nicely (loving the amount of saltiness) and while still leaving the meat part to be lean, juicy and fresh.

The best thing about carp is not the meat, it's the crispy tail! I could abuse that part myself.

Gulai Singkong
IDR 18k
The coconut milk broth was mild and this was cooked without oil but still remains good :).

Pala Adas Oxtail Soup (Sop Buntut Pala Adas)
IDR 78k
Pala Adas' version of Oxtail soup was something certainly not to miss! The soup was extremely tasty with just the proper seasoning! Salty in a good way, savory with the hint of spices that weren't overpowering my palate, I even read some other claiming this to be better than the famous one in Bogor Cafe, well not too sure about that because if you had this, there's a slight difference from the soup but both was pretty good. The meat was extremely beautiful and tender and for me, the more fried shallots in the oxtail soup plus a little touch of green chili is the better!

Sambal Pacak
I must say this one was tasty but such a DEVIL! Devil because this was extremely spicy! The kind of spicy that tune up in seconds and stays in your tongue for quite some time. For those who love bold spiciness this one is definitely must try!

Banana Pala Adas
IDR 20k
To be frank, I didn't try this because this contains cheese but according to my friends this one was delicious.

Kolak Pala Adas
Their version of kolak was surprisingly good! Sweet in the best way, fluffy banana with caramelized flavor, simply the good quality kolak.

Es Kacang Pala Adas
From the three desserts served on the lunch, this one was my favorite! It's actually very simple: red and mung beans over coconut milk and crushed ice but the red beans were caramelized in a very lovely way and the soup (coconut milk base) was mild and decent. Perfect for the hot sunny day and good to share since it's quite big!

I gave so many compliments to the food here and indeed I had no bad comments to give because everything was great, especially the fried duck and the oxtail soup. Just so you know, they differentiate the chili on every dish, just like the above: the green chili on the fried duck with the green chili on the pork ribs were different, there's at least a simple different touch like the play of seasoning or the amount of chili given and indeed tasted slightly different on the most detailed observation LOL!

Forgot to take the pic but I loved their Pandan Rice, the flavor was like the mix of Uduk Rice (Coconut Milk Rice) + Liwet Rice in green color. TASTY!

I truly had a beautiful lunch! Pricing was still relatively affordable for PIK price. Now I can finally a recommend a decent Indonesian restaurant to dine in at PIK. I do hope they manage their quality control because I couldn't afford complimenting their restaurant and had people telling me that it wasn't as good as what I wrote, but again, it's personal taste and I happen to like each and every food.